According to CME's latest quarterly report, available from the US Security and Exchange Commission,

(a) CME and Ronald Lauder personally are being sued in New York by a Ukrainian competitor for 250 million dollars damages and 500 million dollars "punitive damage".

CME works in association with Studio 1+1 in the Ukraine. Studio 1+1 has obtained a broadcasting licence to broadcast on the second Ukranian TV programme from January 1997.

(b) CME has pulled out from the regional TV station Puls, broadcasting in Brandenburg, Germany, having lost 20 million dollars in this venture.

Quotation from the latest CME quarterly report (obtained from Bloomberg):

p.77:

"On April 30, 1997, Perekhid Media Enterprises Ltd. ("Perekhid") filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the New York County, State of New York, against the Company and Ronald S. Lauder, the Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. Perekhid alleges that the issuance of a license to the Studio 1+1 Group pursuant to which Studio 1+1 has been broadcasting programming on Ukrainian National Channel 2 ("UT-2"), constitutes a tortious interference by CME and Mr. Lauder with a Perekhid contract with the Ukrainian authorities for Perekhid to provide programming for and sell advertising time on UT-2. Perekhid's complaint seeks compensatory damages of $250 million, punitive damages of $500 million, and an injunction against the Company and Mr. Lauder to prevent the continuation of the alleged conduct. Management believes that it has substantial defenses in this matter and intends to defend the matter vigorously."

Jan Culik

Glasgow University

20th May, 1997